| mel
boring |
Join us this afternoon
in the AUDITORIUM-Scheduled Events Room for an "Open Forum" with Web
Editor Mel Boring. Mel has published some 25 magazine articles and
stories, as well as eight books for the young readers market. He
taught writing for 18 years, while being home husband and parent to
two of his four children, and doing his own writing. He welcomes
your questions on time management, getting started, writer's block,
marketing, writing rights, writing earnings, or anything else you'd
like to discuss. Bring your QUESTIONS to this open forum-in five
minutes.
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| mel
boring |
The Tuesday afternoon
"Open Forum" will begin promptly at 4 Atlantic/CANADA, 3 p.m.
Eastern, 2 p.m. Central, 1 p.m. Mountain, and noon Pacific. While
you wait for the "Open Forum" to start, feel free to use your ASK A
QUESTION button RIGHT BETWEEN THE YELLOW "MAP" AND THE RED QUESTION
MARK IN ICHAT to post some questions for the discussion group-two
minutes from now.
|
| mel
boring |
Good afternoon! Welcome
to this Tuesday afternoon's "Open Forum" session. I'm your
moderator, Mel Boring, and the Web Editor for this site. We're back
for an informal time of answering any questions you might like to
ask, on any subject. So feel free to ask what's on your mind--and
I'll tell you what's on mine! First, please read these
announcements, then we'll get started….
|
| mel
boring |
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS:
Send questions you'd like answered or discussed by using your "Ask a
Question" icon/button. (It looks like a thought bubble icon, RIGHT
NEXT TO THE RED QUESTION MARK.) The moderator (me, Mel Boring) will
post the questions one at a time in the chat room and do my best to
answer them. Also note: If you want to make it possible to ask the
longest question you can, first type "/ask" (without the quotation
marks), then leave one space after the end of "ask", then type as
many characters of your question as you can. If your question is not
complete, send the second part next, then if necessary the third,
etc…
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| mel
boring |
WARNING: If you don't
post anything at all, SOME of you will be bounced off the system in
15 minutes. TO PREVENT THIS, type something (either a question to
the moderator or even a private message) every 15 minutes to stay
active and remain online.
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| mel
boring |
Our Tasty Word of the
Forum today, THANKS to arnalda!...
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| mel
boring |
is
"cacophony."...
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| mel
boring |
A HINT: It's definition
means anything BUT tasty, but it is a tasty-sounding word in spite
of what it means! Anyone know it?
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| mel
boring |
Chris Weigand let us
know the GOOD NEWS of her latest online, Thanksgiving, article at:
|
| to greet
Thanksgiving Day with |
|
| mel
boring |
Chris Weigand has one
GOOD NEWS after ANOTHER, so talented a writer and editor is
she!...
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| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS, Chris,
and THANK YOU for sharing with us. P.S.: Chris also has a piece
published in a children's magazine recently, and we'll find out
about that next week!
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| mel
boring |
GOOD NEWS from George
Kulz! I have another story accepted, this time at WEE ONES Magazine!
It's called "Gullible
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| for the
July/August 2006 issue of their magazine |
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| mel
boring |
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS,
George!!!...
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| mel
boring |
And don't you just LOVE
the very SOUND of George's title!?!?...
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| mel
boring |
"Gullible Gertrude's
Garden" has the RING of success!
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| mel
boring |
Beth Reinke sent us her
GOOD NEWS: I have an illustrated rebus story and craft in WEE ONES
this issue, and I'm the spotlighted author. So for those, like me,
who love to put a face to a name, glad to meet you!
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| mel
boring |
HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS,
Beth!!!...
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| mel
boring |
Beth is a WELL
published author, and I went right away to the WEE ONES Web
Site...
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| mel
boring |
and read about her--and
saw her pretty picture! WAY TO WRITE RIGHT, Beth!
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| mel
boring |
Lisa Leuck sent this
GOOD NEWS: My new article entitled, "Finding the Perfect Tutor," is
posted on BabyZone.com at this link:
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|
|
| them. |
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| mel
boring |
I haven't had a chance
to check out Lisa's article at this site,...
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| mel
boring |
but I KNOW it'll be
good! Lisa is WELL published on our ICL Web Site. She and her
husband have two beautiful daughters; I know, because I met them on
the Great Bike Ride Across Iowa this past summer!
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| mel
boring |
Margie Hillenbrand just
sent this GOOD NEWS:
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| the latest
(winter) issue of ONCE UPON A TIME. |
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| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS,
Margie!!!...
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| mel
boring |
I am going SOON to look
up your poem and read it. I LOVE that title, even by itself,
Margie!
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| mel
boring |
MORE GOOD NEWS, RIGHT
off the press!...
|
| tolkienlvr |
Mel, my article in
APPLESEEDS finally came out in the Nov issues -- "Robots on the red
planet." I'd thrilled that I now have a clip from the children's
arena! : )
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| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS,
tolkienlvr!!!...
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| mel
boring |
APPLESEEDS gives you an
EXCELLENT clip, a well respected children's
magazine....
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| mel
boring |
May that CLIP bring you
MORE PUBLICATIONS, our friend!
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| mel
boring |
What a LOT of GOOD NEWS
today! Anyone else have some to share?
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| dell |
Mel, I wanted to thank
you for your tips on book promotion a few weeks back. I've been able
to schedule two bookstore signings, three nursery school visits, one
public school visit and a library 'pajama party' AND like you
suggested, I contacted the local paper and they're doing an article
on me and the library event. The only advice I didn't try yet is
contacting the local TV or radio stations. Give me time though and I
may build up the nerve :)
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| mel
boring |
WOW, dell, your
publicity is MUSHROOMING!...
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| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS to you!
ALL those signings and visits will do your book FURTHER
GOOD!...
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| mel
boring |
And I'll bet we'll HEAR
you on radio and SEE you on TV, friend! It may not be good grammar,
but YOU DONE GOOD!
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| mel
boring |
Now, about our Tasty
Word, "cacophony":...
|
| george
kulz |
Cacophony - din, noise, a
sound that is not pleasing to the ears.
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| mel
boring |
Right you are, george
kulz!...
|
| caq |
cacophony - unpleasant
noise. The nearby city tried using cacophony to get rid of 75,000
crows in the summer. Didn't work, they came back!
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| mel
boring |
And right YOU are, caq!
What a great example--and what PERSISTENT crows,
huh?
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| mel
boring |
Here is what I'll call
a "daffynition"--and I LOVE it:...
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| writersblock |
What you call someone who
is pretending to cough= cacophony.
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| mel
boring |
THANKS,
writersblock!!!
|
| tech |
do you have the phonetic
spelling for cacophony
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| mel
boring |
THANK YOU for asking,
tech! Here it is:...
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| mel
boring |
cacophony
\kuh-KOPH-uh-knee\ noun: : harsh or discordant sound
:
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| mel
boring |
The phonetic spelling
is the second part of that definition.
|
| lisalisa |
Thanks, Mel. You're
sweet.
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| mel
boring |
Aw, shucks, lisalisa,
thank YOU!
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| mel
boring |
MORE GOOD NEWS, from
writermom!...
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| writermom |
Mel I just wanted to
share that an article that I wrote and was accepted by OUAT a year
ago was finally published in the winter edition of
OUAT
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| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS,
writermom! I'll have MORE than one reason to read that issue of Once
Upon A Time now! HEARTY CONGRATS!
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| vettemom |
It is exciting to see how
intrests change as we progress
|
| vettemom |
through this course. I
though fiction was ny nitch, but I
|
| vettemom |
found out that NF is my
ticket, helping teens! Explore!
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| gladys1 |
Hi Mel made it wish I did
have good news but one of these days I will
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| mel
boring |
You WILL have GOOD NEWS
again one of these days, gladys1, because I've read your GOOD
published writing before!
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| delima-e |
can we welcome all the
newbies today
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| mel
boring |
Yes, we can! And THANKS
for the reminder, delima-e!...
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| mel
boring |
There are MORE people
here today than have EVER been here before!...
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| mel
boring |
A WARM WELCOME TO YOU,
especially if you're here for the FIRST TIME!...
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| mel
boring |
We WELCOME you and your
questions to the Open Forum!...
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| mel
boring |
To see so MANY people
interested in writing for children is a JOY to my HEART, my
friends!
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| mel
boring |
A thank you that I
should've posted earlier, but never too late:...
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| writermom |
thanks mel and
everybody
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| mel
boring |
You are WARMLY WELCOME,
writermom, and you DESERVED our congratulations!
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| mel
boring |
Two IMPORTANT
questions:...
|
| krathbun |
What's
OUAT?
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| mel
boring |
ONCE UPON A TIME is a
print magazine about children's writing,
krathbun....
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| mel
boring |
It has articles ABOUT
writing for children, and some pieces FOR children as
well...
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| mel
boring |
Famous writers like
Jane Yolen, writermom, and Margie Hillenbrand have been published in
it....
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| mel
boring |
And I THINK you can
find it online by using OUAT or the full spelling as search
words--and THANKS for asking!
|
| high
hopes |
I need a lesson in
English-is it "a" SASE or "an" SASE?
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| mel
boring |
It's "a" SASE, high
hopes, because the "s" word after it is "SELF," so it takes just the
vowel "a," rather than "an self-addressed stamped
envelope."
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| mel
boring |
THANK YOU for helping
us clear that up for many here!
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| wenscritters |
cacaphony- the perfect
word for my barnyard story - thanks!
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| mel
boring |
Yes, INDEED, that is a
PERFECT barnyard story word, wenscritters!
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| mel
boring |
bassoonhny e-mailed to
ask: I'm interested in joining or starting a writer's support group
in my area. Do you have any suggestions how to get
started?
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| mel
boring |
To JOIN a group,
bassoonhny, I would suggest you go to the Web Site of the Society of
Children's BOok Writers and Illustrators:...
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| mel
boring |
www.scbwi.org
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| mel
boring |
And there you will be
able, even if you're not a member, to find out WHO and WHERE the
REGIONAL DIRECTORS are....
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| mel
boring |
And when you find them,
they will list what support groups are in their
area....
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| mel
boring |
and if one is in YOUR
area, bassoonhny, you'll be able to join....
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| mel
boring |
If you want to START
one, put an ad in the paper, and notices on the library and
supermarket bulletin boards that say:...
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| mel
boring |
Starting a children's
writers' support group. If you're interested, call me at: ___ ___
____, then sign your name....
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| mel
boring |
People will get hold of
you, I will BET, because there are always people around who are
interested.
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| mel
boring |
KR needs to find out:
I'm a member of a critique group for children's nonfiction, and
embarrassed myself with my very first submission to the group when
they responded with "that's fiction". It was an informative article
about small rabbit-like animals called pikas, and provided the
Chilkoot Pass trail during the Klondike Gold
|
| I followed one
particular animal's activities, and had him overhear some
conversation between two gold-fevered miners. (The juxtaposition of
the little creature's urge to collect food for |
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| "collecting" urge
of the miners was interesting to me.) I use the word "faction" to
describe it, since it may be different from what |
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| the market like
for this kind of stuff? Which magazines might be interested in such
articles? Which picture book publishers might go for
it |
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| mel
boring |
Yes, that WOULD be
termed "fiction" by editors, KR, though technically you're right,
it's "faction," fact+fiction....
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| mel
boring |
There is a market for
faction, but ONLY if it's done well....
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| mel
boring |
And the way to do it
well is to make the story part (about the pika) NOT seem "tacked
on."...
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| mel
boring |
Because "faction" in
which the story seems just forced upon the writing to get facts
across comes across as phony....
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| mel
boring |
So make SURE your pika
story is a "
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| mel
boring |
"grabber" by itself,
and only conveys the facts secondarily.
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| mel
boring |
Then look in a
marketing guide, KR,...
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| mel
boring |
and match your "story"
with magazines that want strong stories about
animals.
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| mel
boring |
TS e-mailed us to ask
about FanStory: I get a Writer's Digest e-mail newsletter, it told
me about Fanstory.com. It is a place where new writers or poets can
post their writing on-line and get feedback. You can be a "free"
reader member or upgrage to a "premier" membership to be able to
post your writing. Fanstory.com says the author retains all the
rights. How do we know if webpages like this are legitimate? Are
there other sites like this? What would you recommend to us aspiring
writers?
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| mel
boring |
CB asked a similar
question about FanStory: I just explored a site, FanStory.com,
(http://www.fanstory.com/index1.jsp) and wondered if you knew
anything about it or would recommend it?
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| mel
boring |
I e-mailed the editor
at FanStory, TS and CB,...
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| mel
boring |
and got back THIS
information:...
|
| mel
boring |
Hi Mel, Thank you for
contacting us. I have answered your questions....
|
| mel
boring |
The site started in the
year 2000. For nearly six years it has been helping writers improve
their craft....
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| mel
boring |
You can read our
testimonials here:
http://www.fanstory.com/testimonials.jsp
|
| mel
boring |
Copyright laws are
designed to protect writers. Writers retain rights to their own
material when they post work on FanStory.com. By posting to
FanStory.com, writers grant us non-exclusive rights to display and
store their work on our site. ...
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| mel
boring |
Obviously, we require
these rights to show work to other people who may visit our
site....
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| mel
boring |
Non-exclusive means
that you may give these same rights to anyone else as well; for
money or for free....
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| mel
boring |
We advertise with
WRITER'S DIGEST. We are not connected with WRITER'S
DIGEST....
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| mel
boring |
What are the charges
for going BEYOND the free membership to where a writer would be able
to submit their writing?...
|
| mel
boring |
The charges for premier
membership is just per month. That is discounted greatly if a member
chooses our 12 month or two year membership....
|
| mel
boring |
You can find out more
at:...
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| mel
boring |
http://www.fanstory.com/index1.jsp
|
| mel
boring |
Thank you, Tom Ens,
FanStory.com.
|
| mel
boring |
THAT is the scoop from
FanStory. Now I want to ask if any of YOU have subscribed to them,
and what YOUR experience has been. Anybody?
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| mel
boring |
MC is asking: What is
the difference between a picture book and a picture story
book?
|
| mel
boring |
GOOD
question!...
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| mel
boring |
A picture book is
usually always 32 pages, exactly....
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| mel
boring |
And it has a picture on
every page, and text on MOST pages....
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| mel
boring |
The distinguishing
feature about a picture book is that it would be INCOMPLETE without
EITHER the pictures OR the text!...
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| mel
boring |
A picture STORY book
will not have a picture on every page, necessarily, and WILL have
more text usually than pictures....
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| mel
boring |
The distinguishing
feature of a picture story book is that it COULD be read from JUST
the TEXT, and it would make sense....
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| mel
boring |
It doesn't absolutely
need the pictures as a picture book does....
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| mel
boring |
Also, MC, picture STORY
books are usually longer in wordage, and for OLDER children than
picture books--although there are exceptions...
|
| mel
boring |
A good example of a
picture book is WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice
Sendak...
|
| mel
boring |
and an example of a
picture STORY book is THE STORY OF PAUL BUNYAN AND BABE THE BLUE
OX.
|
| mel
boring |
G needs to know: Do you
know if WEE ONES Magazine really lets authors retain the rights to
their stories? They told me that they do not publish with a contract
for
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| wanted to make
sure. Also, is it a good idea to |
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| before it even
gets published in their magazine |
|
| mel
boring |
They evidently DO let
the author retain rights to their stories, EXCEPT that when they
publish your story (on the Web) they are using First Electronic
Rights, so you can't sell those to anyone, since they've already
been taken....
|
| mel
boring |
But you could resell
the story published on the Web to a hard copy
magazine....
|
| mel
boring |
Not buying ANY rights
is tricky, because when any mag does that,...
|
| mel
boring |
they ARE USING whatever
rights are involved when they publish it...
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| mel
boring |
If a hard copy magazine
says it takes no rights from you, when it publishes your manuscript,
GONE are your FIRST RIGHTS, because it's been published the first
time already.
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| mel
boring |
WWW asks this first
question: When you set on a certain number of words in a book, which
is more important when you start writing it - the number of words
through the book or the book itself. I keep track of the number of
words and then get frustrated when I go over the
amount.
|
| mel
boring |
On your FIRST drafts,
WWW, FORGET the word count. Go way over, if you need to, JUST to GET
THE STORY DOWN....
|
| mel
boring |
Then on further
revisions, those are the rewritings to pare down the wordage, if
necessary....
|
| mel
boring |
But in your very FIRST
draft, especially, you should ONLY CONCENTRATE on getting the story
down, fresh, as it's coming to you--forget the word
count!
|
| mel
boring |
WWW asks this second
question: When writing about a character reading a note, would this
be the correct way:
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| from Jacque,
"Please take this to Nadine and she will forward it to
me." |
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| note or a letter,
how do you set it up on the paper |
|
| mel
boring |
I would suggest putting
the short note JUST as you have it, WWW, except that you might want
a PERIOD or a COLON after "Jacque," before the
quote....
|
| mel
boring |
If it's a LONGER note
or letter, INDENT it five spaces on BOTH left and right, withOUT any
quote marks....
|
| mel
boring |
That sets it apart so
that the reader's eyes see it as the insetting of a letter or note
or other notation.
|
| mel
boring |
GOOD questions,
WWW!
|
| mel
boring |
DK e-mailed to ask: I
had some poems published about 15 years ago in our university's
literary magazine. Is it legal for me to submit them now to a
"paying" market?
|
| mel
boring |
The answer to your good
question, DK, is to find out WHAT RIGHTS the literary magazine took
when they published it...
|
| mel
boring |
They would have taken
FIRST RIGHTS, of course. But you should write the magazine and ASK
what rights they took, and what rights YOU have
left...
|
| mel
boring |
Then you can sell the
rights the literary mag DIDN'T buy to other markets, paying markets
included.
|
| mel
boring |
ID asked: I ´m very
interested in retelling folktales, fairy tales and myths. I would
appreciate if you could recommend any books or websites where I can
find information about that. I did see some information geared
toward students in
|
| Osbourne´s site.
Yet, I didn´t find much on the subject |
|
| mel
boring |
I'm surprised that the
Mary Pope Osbourne site doesn't have more, but finding the info will
be fairly easy, ID....
|
| mel
boring |
Go to www.google.com,
and put in EACH of those search words, folktales, then fairy tales,
and so on....
|
| mel
boring |
By putting in
"folktales" after I received your question, I came up with about
TWENTY solid sources about Japanese and other
folktales....
|
| mel
boring |
Go to each of the sites
and glean info....
|
| mel
boring |
And those Web Sites
will also cite BOOKS about each of those genres, and give you more
info than you probably ever hoped for, friend!
|
| mel
boring |
GS needs to find out:
If a publisher has said they will publish your story or article how
long should we (I) wait for a reply as to when it will be put on the
Web site before I e-mail them and ask?
|
| mel
boring |
With the WEB, I think
about THREE MONTHS would be right, GS,...
|
| mel
boring |
because things move
pretty quickly on the Web.
|
| doug |
Hi Mel! There is a group
of at least 6 ICLers I know attempting NaNoWriMo this month. Most
are doing well and are right on or ahead of schedule. Me-well, I'm
waaaay behind, but am still writing more than usual. Wish us luck!
Thanks.
|
| mel
boring |
The NaNoWriMo challenge
is to write an ENTIRE NOVEL...
|
| mel
boring |
during just the month
of NOVEMBER! So you are a TROUPER for taking on that challenge,
doug!!!...
|
| mel
boring |
And I've heard from
others who are doing it....
|
| mel
boring |
Obviously, it will
FORCE you to write fast, and get the FIRST draft down without
worrying about word count or spelling or
ANYthing....
|
| mel
boring |
GOOD FORTUNE to you,
doug, and to the others who are doing the NaNoWriMo
challenge!...
|
| mel
boring |
To find out MORE about
this National Novel Writing Month, go to:..
|
| mel
boring |
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
|
| mel
boring |
And it's a WONDER just
to read that info there! I hope you win, doug!
|
| lilwriter |
I am only on asgmnt 4 is
it too early to start submitting ar
|
| mel
boring |
It's NEVER too early to
start submitting your work, lilwriter!...
|
| mel
boring |
So GO FOR
IT!...
|
| mel
boring |
Speaking of GO, I MUST
GO now. I see there are MANY leftover questions, and I'll use them
in the Monday Announcements to come--and THANKS!...
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS for being here
today, and being SO DEDICATED to children's writing, my friends! Bye
for now!...
|
| mel
boring |
This Thursday evening,
by the way...
|
| mel
boring |
We will have Sharene
Martin, a literary agent, as our Chat Guest. Sharene is SHARP, and
will answer ANY question about agents you want
answered!
|